Pomegranate(Anar) Mocktail

                A very refreshing cocktail with fresh, red & juicy pomegranates along with the tropical tastes of lemon & oranges...I just gulped the whole juice in my glass without a stop...Usually my hubby is not very interested in pomegranates, even though i keep reminding him its good for your health, some sort of bitter taste he feels while having them...(I never felt the same, so can't explain)...But for this cocktail, i don't know what happened, it was really a different taste...Perfect to quench your thirst with a freshness !!! It looks so festive to me...

               Even though removing the pomegranate fruit seeds from its inside was a really tough & tiring job (I don't like doing it).., the end result made me happy to prepare it again....Always be careful to squeeze & add the fresh orange juice just before serving, since the taste of orange juice changes with time....The recipe is not much difficult, but the combo was really soothing to our hearts wanting more....Even kids adore these..!!

Ingredients

1. Pomegranates/Anar/ Madalam - 4 big ones
2. Lemon - 2 small
3. Oranges - 1 large
4. Sugar - As much reqd
5. Water - 2 long glasses
6. Pomegranate seeds - 2 - 4 tbsp
7. Mint  leaves - 1 or 2

Preparation

~Get ready our pomegranate fruit seeds separated from its inside & add it to your blender along with very less water, just to get it blended (about 1 cup) 

~Blend nicely & strain well to a jug.
~Now just wash the blender with little water & add the strained pomegranate juice into it.
~Squeeze 1 lemon juice along with 5 to 6 tbsp of sugar & rest of the water & blend well.
~Check the taste & add the rest of lemon juice & sugar accordingly.
~Refrigerate this juice for atleast half an hour.
~Just before serving squeeze fresh orange juice into the prepared pomegranate lemonade with 1 or 2 mint leaves & shake well inside a closed jug.
~Serve into tall glasses with ice cubes & 1 or 2 tbsp of pomegranate fruit seeds...

Nutty Dates Payasam / Nutty Khajur Kheer

                 Ohh my !! The easiest & tastiest Payasam I have ever prepared...It just took minutes...So easyy...Im sure many of you would definitely give this a try soon...Make atleast half the quantity I have mentioned below..Ssooo creamyy, chewyy, nutty & all the more healthy... Nuts, Badam & Dates...The best combo ever...I didnt want to chew the dates in-between...so i made a paste out of it...I think the flavor just increased...Ahh.... My kid was actually licking the whole bowl...Slurpp !!!

               Sorry for being late in posting this recipe..HAPPY ONAM to all my readers...Actually its belated Onam wishes...My kid drizzled water over my lap top & had to wait long to get it repaired...My hubby is not yet free from the shock of the incident cost..Thanks to him that atleast now I could share this easy recipe with you... Hope all enjoyed a very joyous, fun filled and yummy onam...Do check out my Dates Delight in which I have given more info about the use of Dates..

                

Ingredients

1. Dates - 20 (pitted & chopped)
2. Almond Paste - 1 tbsp (soak 3-4 almonds in water,peel the skin & grind to smooth paste with little water)
3. Almonds - 10 (chopped) 4. Rava /Semolina /Sooji - 1 tbsp
5. Jaggery - 3-4 tbsp (grated)[according to sweetness of dates]
6. Milk/Coconut milk - 4 cups
7. Cardamom powder - 2 tsp
8. Water - 1 cup
9. Ghee - 1 tbsp (unmelted)
10. Cashew nuts - 10-12 (halved)

11. Condensed milk - 1 -2 tbsp (optional)

12. Salt -  a pinch

Preparation

~ Heat ghee in a non-stick cookware.
~Saute nuts in it till light golden brown & remove it from ghee & keep it aside.
~Add the chopped dates to the ghee & saute for 1 min.
~Pour the water & cook the dates till mushy (close the lid & cook. Stir occasionally)[make sure the water does not dry up]

~Press the dates with your long spoon to make them mushy.

~Now add 2 cups of milk, almond paste, rava, jaggery  & let it boil.

~Now reduce the flame & add the rest of the milk & allow it to boil again.

~Check the sweetness & adjust with jaggery/condensed milk & add salt.

~After it has boiled, reduce the flame & cook for 2 mts & add your sauteed nuts to it & mix well...your lovely payasam is ready.

~As almond paste & rava is added the payasam will become thicker by time so don't cook for long.
~Can add 2 or 3 chopped dates also at the end.

Linking to : Pramitha's Celebrating 1st Blog Anniversary with Giveaway !

Linking to : Foodabulous Fest Event organised by SimplyTADKA &   The Big Sweeth Tooth 

Linking to : Shruthi's Sweet Celebration with a Giveaway

Linking to : Festive Treats @ Cuisine Delight

Linking to : Color Me Photography Challenge Series

 

Linking to : Nayna's Let's Cook with Coconut

Linking to : Valli's Kid's Delight 

Linking t o : Amrita's Party with Giveaways

Foodabulous Fest - July Series - Ramadan & Mango Delicacies Round Up !!!

        Wowww...Just had a fabulous time hosting this event, specially during the time of Ramadan....The time when most of the wonderful dishes get ready to your table...Got 208 wonderful entries....Really happy to see the support....Special thanks to Preeti Garg of Simply TADKA for giving me this oppurtunity..First time hosting an event...even though i have conducted events my own...
Also cannot forget to mention the support of our 2 sponsors....
Nityasya & Peach Collections....

         My son tripped off my lap, & all the delay for this round up was just to get it repaired...Also after getting it, had a tough time preparing the round up, as there were soo many entries...Special thanks to Priya Anandakumar of Yummy Foods, Nawal Althuaf of Love From Kitchen , Lincy Patel of Home Cook Food &  many more whose contribution made this event a grand success...


         Hope all had a wonderful time linking in your entries & checking out recipes of others too....All the recipes just look mouthwatering...Will provide the round up as 2....One part for mangoes & one for Ramadan recipes....& at the end we will see who are the 2 lucky winners...So lets begin the journey !!!


Majority of the entries were of Ramadan...So just categorised them for a better search....
To check out the Ramadan entries click the below links...

1. Non-Veg Iftar Snacks
2. Veg Iftar Snacks 
3. Iftar Refreshers 
4. Iftar Sweets 
5. Non-Veg Iftar Gravies
6. Veg Iftar Gravies 
7. Rotis & Rice

Provided the mango round-up below...

Mango Recipes Round-up (25 entries)

Mango Orange Sharbat - Desi Fiesta

Mango Vermecelli Pudding - Neha Mariyam Paul

Mango Vermicelli Kheer - What's Cooking

Mango Pannacotta - Spicy Foood

Mango CheeseCake in Cups - Febi's Cookbook

Mango Cream Delight - Kitchen Delicacies

Mango Fool - Mayuri's Jinoki

Mango Orange Smoothie - Tricks & Treats

Mango & Custard Verrines - Pramitha Love's Cooking

Mango Bread Pudding - Shabana

Mango Duet Popsicle - Smart Maa

                                          

Chocolate Mango Velvet Torte - Ainy Cooks

       

Mango Pudding  - I think I am hungry

                                                                                      

Mango CheeseCake - Santha Benny 

 Saffron Mango Shake - Uk,Rasoi & me !

Mango Mousse Cake - Smart Maa

                                                   

Mango Shrikhand - Tease your taste buds

         

Mango Cake - Sugar 'n' Spice

Mango Rasmalai - Tricks & Treats

Fresh Pulpy mango juice - Desi Fiesta

                      

            

Mango Oreo Smoothie -Rahna Ajmal

Fruit mango lassi - Veg Indian Recipes

Mango pudding - Love from Kitchen

   

Sweet Mango Coconut Pulao 
- Veg Indian Recipes

Microwave Mango Halwa - Desi Fiesta

 






So lets announce the winners...No more waiting !!!

Ente Paachaka Pareekshanangal

Shenu's Kitchen

*Winners do send me your address personally.

Do contact me within 2 days, else a new winner would be selected *

Congratzzz to both of you !!

Apple Mango Juice

                   All my family is crazy of mangoes... Mango Lassi (Smoothie), Mango Lemonade, Mango Sunrise  & Tango Shake are the common ones that pleases our taste-buds...Found out a new combination of mangoes with apples last week...& I've been preparing it this whole week...Mangoes got over...& waiting for next bunch of mangoes....The main motivation for me to prepare this easy juice is that my son is really fond of this...The color of the juice itself makes him soo happy that he starts clapping his hands & smiles at me...He's getting one & half year old tomorrow...So if he liked & approved it, I'm sure many of you would love it !!!

              Only using mangoes would make the juice pulpy & only using apples would make the juice into a soft-chewy texture...So...our apple mango juice is a mixture of soft-chewy & pulpy texture...I just love feeling this different texture of juice in my tongue..!! A fantastic summer time refreshment !!!.
Try it out & I'm sure you'll let me know the feedback..........

              Refrigerate the juice after preparing it, if required...The color of the apples in the juice won't change...Have it along with breakfast, after lunch/dinner...Or when your friends come home...

 

Ingredients

1. Apple - 1
2. Mango - 1
3. Water - 1 glass (can dilute more if reqd.)
4.Sugar - 2-3 tbsp (according to sweetness of fruits)

Preparation

~Peel the skin of both apple & mango & chop them into thick slices without seeds.
~Try taking equal amounts of apple & mango.
~Along with these apple & mango add water & sugar to the blender & blend well for 1 min.
~Add ice & serve. (Avoid ice for kids..just refrigerate the fruits before preparing)

Linking to : Kauser's Mango Delights

Linking to : Guru Wadhwa's Giveaway summer '13-drinks/desserts

Linking to : Pari's ‘Only’ Event Of May + Giveaway

Linking to : Manasi's Monsoon Temptations